Methods for encoding, decoding and interpreting auxiliary data in media signals

• US 9,832,353 B2
• Filed: 02/02/2015
• Issued: 11/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Original Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Inventors: Weaver, Matthew M., Sharma, Ravi K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Park, Chan
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRAN, MAI H
• Application Number:
  US14/611,515
• Publication Number:
  US 20150302543A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,030 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/16 Program or content traceability, e.g. by watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G09C 5/00 Ciphering apparatus or methods not provided for in the preceding groups, e.g. involving the concealment or deformation of graphic data such as designs, written or printed messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/34 Encoding or coding, e.g. Huffman coding or error correction
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/608 Watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23892 involving embedding information at multiplex stream level, e.g. embedding a watermark at packet level
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8358 involving watermark protecting executable software by watermarking G06F21/16; image watermarking in general G06T1/0021; watermarks inserted in still images for transmission purposes H04N1/32144; inserting watermarks during video coding H04N19/467
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/00 Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof

Abstract

The disclosure relates to digital watermarking, steganography, and specifically to message coding protocols used in conjunction with digital watermarking and steganographic encoding/decoding and payload interpretation methods. One claim recites a method for interpreting a data structure having fixed and variable message portions, the method comprising: processing the fixed message portion to determine a version of the variable message portion; decoding the entire payload field of the variable message portion according to the determined version; and interpreting only a portion of the decoded payload field according to the determined version. Of course, other features and claims are provided too.

Claims

1. A method for creating a payload in a data structure, comprising:

forming a fixed message portion comprising a validation field and a version field, in which the validation field and the version field each have a fixed bit-length, in which the validation field comprises a fixed set of message symbols that provide a check to determine whether a valid payload is present, in which the version field comprises a version identifier indicating a version associated with a variable message portion;

forming the variable message portion comprising an error detect field and a payload field, in which the error detect field comprises a plurality of error detect symbols, and in which the payload field comprises a payload item sub-type identifier that identifies a payload item conveyed in the payload field; and

embedding the fixed message portion and the variable message portion into a host media signal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data structure comprises a digital watermark.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said embedding comprises embedding such that the data structure is substantially imperceptible in the host media signal.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the payload item comprises at least one item selected from the group of:

an identifier, a computer file, a set of machine-executable instructions, metadata, a date, a name, an address, and a location.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the version identifier includes a global trade item number (GTIN), an application identifier (Al), or a recycling code.

7. The method of claim 1 in which the payload item comprises a sell-by date or expiration date.

8. The method of claim 1 in which the payload item sub-type identifier comprises plural bits.

9. The method of claim 1 in which the version identifier conveys a location of the payload item sub-type identifier within the variable message portion.

10. The method of claim 1 in which a location of the payload item sub-type identifier is independent of data conveyed by the version identifier.

11. The method of claim 1 in which the variable message portion comprises a plurality of payload item sub-type identifiers.

12. The method of claim 11 in which the version field conveys a number of the plurality of payload item sub-type identifiers.

13. The method of claim 1 in which the payload item sub-type identifier identifies the payload item by conveying a sub-category associated with the payload item.

14. The method of claim 1 in which the payload item sub-type identifier identifies the payload item by conveying a sub-category associated with the version identifier.

6. A method for interpreting a data structure comprising a message, the message comprising a fixed message portion and a variable message portion, the method comprising:

processing the fixed message portion to determine a version of the variable message portion, said processing yielding a determined version of the variable message portion, in which the variable message portion comprises a payload item sub-type identifier that identifies a sub-category associated with a payload item conveyed in a payload field;

decoding the payload field of the variable message portion according to the determined version of the variable message portion; and

interpreting the decoded payload field according to the payload item sub-type identifier.

15. The method of claim 6 in which the payload item comprises a sell-by date or expiration date.

16. The method of claim 6 in which the payload item sub-type identifier comprises plural bits.

17. The method of claim 6 in which the determined version comprises plural bits and indicates a location of the payload item sub-type identifier within the variable message portion.

18. The method of claim 6 in which a location of the payload item sub-type identifier is independent of data conveyed by the determined version.

19. The method of claim 6 in which the variable message portion comprises a plurality of payload item sub-type identifiers.

20. The method of claim 19 in which the determined version comprises plural bits, and conveys a number of the plurality of payload item sub-type identifiers.

21. The method of claim 6 in which the payload item sub-type identifier identifies the payload item by conveying a sub-category associated with the payload item.

22. The method of claim 6 in which the payload item sub-type identifier identifies the payload item by conveying a sub-category associated with the determined version.